We took advantage of the CoolPASS offered by Experience Columbia, SC getting us access to the EdVenture Children's Museum, South Carolina State Museum, and the Riverbanks Zoo & Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend! The EdVenture Children's Museum shares the parking lot with the State Museum but if you have a young one - the children's museum can be an all day excursion due to the vast activities, hand-on learning and fun that is available in this massive space. Clean spaces and helpful staff. A great stop to add if you are passing through or to even plan a family trip around! Highly recommend! Affordable entry prices and annual memberships available if you are a local! read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - Eddie - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

This is a cute place geared towards the little ones. There is plenty of space and parking and the price is low to get in. I wish some of the things weren't messed up, broken or closed. I think it will be great when the Dino part is open. My kids really loved the arts and crafts upstairs. I really enjoyed the planes but things are broken and need updated. I am glad I went and I think if you're in the area you should visit but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

This is a lovely children's museum. It was a big and bright with some unique exhibits. They have books everywhere and the giant child statue is iconic. The staff was nice. My son had fun but did not want to stay long. He is 9 and I think the museum is best for kids under 8. read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Great place for kids from 1 to about 12. My 3 and 5 year old were entertained in each area longer than I expected. Great variety of exhibits combining learning and fun. read more

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Took Joel and Olivia to Ed's Adventure Museum and we had such a great time! This place is perfect for kids, super interactive and full of hands-on activities that keep them entertained the whole visit. They had an airplane simulator, which was really cool, and a firefighter simulator that Olivia absolutely loved. There were so many different stations for the kids to explore, learn, and just have fun. it's one of those places where they don't even realize how much they're learning because they're so into it. read more

I been to 3 children's museum and this is one of my favorites. I been there once when my son was 11MO (not walking yet) and again at 17MO (now running). When he was 11MO, we mostly spent time in the baby/toddler area since it was busy and I felt like he was going to get run over in other areas. The second time, we visited was much better since it was a Monday afternoon. We had most rooms/activities to ourselves so he could explore more. His favorite rooms were the grocery store and the vet/pet grooming room. We plan on visiting every time we are in Columbia as it is a great place to entertain kids for hours. read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - Pharmacy activity - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Everything went well except for the fact that it felt so grimy and unclean throughout. We were here all day and never saw any cleaning of places or things where snot, sneezes, and grumpy hands had accumulated. The fire truck exhibit is great but not knowing or being able to where your children are going to come out is dangerous. We watched a child come down the slide and head straight for the front door! read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - All the stuff that feels greasy and grimey - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Great place to take the kids. They are having fun and learning at the same time. Arts, crafts, medical, and mecani operations. Play, learn, and wear the kids out. Great day. read more

I love taking my daughter to Edventure because it has tons of things for kids to do. My daughter's favorite area is the supermarket and kitchen and the playground. She can literally stay there all day. I pay for the membership because I have 5 kids total and it just makes sense to save the money. We go there often for her to get her energy out especially when we have some free time. read more

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We have been here twice now and just love it!! It's so hard to get my kids to even leave. They love all the activities and things to see and do. Whenever we visit Columbia South Carolina we try to bring the kids here. Even Grandma Nonna was having a blast on the bike! read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - Even grown ups love this place! - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Wow this place is LOT - which can be good or bad depending on what you want. It is full of high activity entertainment for kids so it can keep your active kiddos focused for hours, while learning something about the human body, aviation, or physics in the process. There are seemingly endless interactive exhibits that are as fun to watch the kids play with as it is for the kids themselves. On weekends/holidays this place is INSANE. I'd avoid it on those days if you can. Hordes of kids make it difficult for parents to keep track of kids and for the kids to get access to the exhibits. Bathrooms are a WRECK. I mean just horrible. We tried maybe 3 and in each all the toilets were chock full and could not be flushed in that state, so it was a fun game of finding the combination of the least soiled toilet seat and least filled toilet. read more

The people that work here deserve more pay. There is a buzzer that kids could buzz and it went off non stop. I was going to lose it, that was after 5 minutes. They deal with this all day. Oh yeah, my son had fun too. The buzzer just stopped. It buzzed the whole time I thought of and typed this. read more

Hands on interactive science museum for children. This was one of the best activities we did while in S.C. There's so much to see and do for the kids. The firetruck and grocery store were some of my son's favorite items to play with here. The grocery store even has the Publix vests! The little diner spot was always busy with kids "cooking, cleaning and serving food" I hope the workers get at least $50k for working here because it's insane and they've all kept their cool. There was a buzzer going off at the dairy farm and it didn't even phase them. read more

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A fun experience for your kids with the opportunity to learn while playing. From driving a fire truck to learning about planes, and making food, the kids loved the experience. I highly recommend this for parents looking for something easy to keep their kids entertained for hours. From little to middle school, I think they will love it. read more

Not they bad. Wasn't too expensive. Several different type of exhibits. The negative is kids just running around like crazy. read more

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So I decided to take my homeschoolers here for a field trip. Prices were great for the experience. I give it 3 stars because Some of the outdoor activities didn't work, maybe because the weather and The bio lab got cancelled. We did the cooking lab which was really fun. My kids had fun, it was a great learning experience, I would definitely take them back. read more

EdVenture Children's Museum - This guy here is huge, you can climb inside his body and learn about how our bodies work - Children's Museums Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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We loved it. Our kids 1.5 and 3.5 had lots to do all day! 9-1:30 with a break for lunch and they could have stayed more. On the other hand, big Eddie has a ridiculously large face diaper on, so I can't give it 5 stars. read more

I used to come here years ago with my older kiddos, and we decided to come back for a visit with the younger one. We had a good time, but it just wasn't as good as I remember it. There were so many things on the directional signs that we asked about and they said aren't there any more and haven't been for a long time. It seems like it needs some updates, and they just haven't done them. My kids' favorite things were the oversized chess board and the how to make slime science lab class. We spent about an hour and a half there and felt like we had seen and done everything. I remember there being more to do, and for the price, I would just expect a little more. With that being said, we still had a good time for the short time we were there, but I don't think we will be back again. read more

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One of the best Children's Museums we have ever been to! My 6 and 9 year old spent the entire day here and would go back again with no hesitation! Mental and physical activities galore. Clean, friendly and well worth the stop if traveling or the hour and a half drive that we made. There is a science museum in the same parking lot and a beautiful trail along the water a mile away to bike, scoot, walk and exercise with picnic tables, benches and a workout playground. 6 thumbs way up! read more

We were pretty disappointed in our experience here. There wasn't as much to do as I thought and my kids asked to leave after only an hour and a half - that's very unlike them - and I was fine with leaving. Everything was just kind of dirty and toys and equipment were sparse. I could see where this place could have been fantastic years ago but honestly it needs some upgrades and a deep clean. I feel bad. My kids were excited and it just wasn't that great of a time. Also for the price I feel like we got ripped off. It's not affordable for the average family. read more

Lots to do in theory and some exhibits are great. They charge per adult to enter which can really rack up the cost to play. Also, much of the facility seems rundown. There is trash all over (chip bags, empty bottles etc) and many exhibits are a mess. Perhaps they were understaffed the day we were there but regardless it seems like the whole place could use a facelift. The kids had fun overall but I don't think I'd go back. read more

This museum is a good concept that I loved when I was little but it looks like it hasn't been cleaned at all since I was last there (20+years ago). I took my daughter there to have some fun and I was left disgusted and disappointed. Craft activities were completely empty. The entire place is dirty. Kids running wild with no staff in sight except at the front desk. The grocery store had older kids THROWING the food and slamming carts on the ground and one toddler running the cart back and forth slamming into other carts, the walls and kids on purpose. He ran right into my 1.5 year old. Could be really great with more staff, order and a serious deep clean but wow. There need to be some solid rules for parents to follow and staff to enforce them. read more

At most museums, you a asked to be quiet and not to touch anything. Not at Edventures!! We stopped by here on our holiday road trip. I am so happy that we did. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves! There were so many different stations for children of all ages. A life sized fire truck, full grocery store, planes, farms and toys galore! In addition to the different stations, there is a HUGE statue of a boy sitting. At first I thought it was just a statue, but in all learning Edventures, there was something extra. Towards the back is an opening where the children can learn about the anatomy and even slide down at the end! They even have different presentations for the kids to learn. We went to the nitrogen presentation which taught the kids the effects of nitrogen on different objects. At the end, the kids tasted a marshmallow that was put into nitrogen. The talked about this museum for weeks after our visit. My only regret is that we did not live closer. If you are in the area, make a stop. You won't regret it! read more

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My kiddo (5), niece (5), and nephew (9) really enjoyed themselves! There was a LOT for each of them to do. Climbing throughout Eddie had to be one of their highlights. There's so many interactive things for kids of all ages. I was impressed by how well sanitation was handled. I saw several staff walking through the building spraying sanitizer and cleaning areas throughout both floors. I highly recommend bringing the kids here for their next adventure! read more

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I went yesterday at 10:00 am and was very disappointed in the lack of parental supervision. There were 8 year old boys throwing things on the conveyor belt, kids yanking things out of my 18 month old grandchild's hands and even one girl snatched the buggy from my daughter in law. All without any employee or parents in attendance. There was a huge urine accident in the grocery store and the employee acted annoyed to be bothered. I saw parents way upstairs drinking coffee and not supervising their own children. This is unacceptable if parents aren't watching, they need to be told to leave. read more

Amazing! We took our grandchildren here while visiting Columbia. Please support this with your contributions above and beyond the price of admission. Thank you corporate sponsors like Public, John Deere, WIS news to name a few for making this place a fun and learning experience for children. There is something wonderful in every nook and cranny with more exhibits to come. If you don't have kids make a donation. If you have kids take them you won't be disappointed read more

Not to toot my own horn but...tooooooot!!!! I've worked in children's museums evaluating exhibits, educational goals, etc. in Illinois, Oregon, Boston, Tennessee and Chicago. This place needs an infusion of funding and I know how hard it is to get grants to maintain and improve children's museums. So from a parent's point of view I would say a solid 3 stars. However I'm sure if my daughter was a fellow Yelper, she's give it a 4. Theres a lot to see/do/create/touch/build. Your kid(s) will expend a lot of energy. They have the foundation to be an amazing children's museum and I see all types of programming that never seems open when we come on the weekend. In fact, that's the missing link in a lot of the museum...staff. It would be great to see more staff members available to maintain the areas and be available to facilitate play or educate families. They had a ton of cool space exhibits but they weren't user friendly and the signage wasn't helpful. Plus, a lot of broken equipment or areas under renovation. I understand kids are going to go full tilt boogie but it can't look like they actually run the place! It's worth a visit, a little pricey and maybe we just need to be more thoughtful in our planning and see if we can get into the food lab one of these times...when it's open. Please add more staff on the weekend!! Exhibits: Eddie (the huge boy you can climb around and explore his insides. No signs though to help parents explain what you're looking at), vet clinic, game room with mini golf, huge chess board and pieces, library with puppet show area and dress-up, a Publix grocery store, farm, diner, fire truck, media station, air plane, toddler specific areas, etc. The rotating exhibit had a mini hockey rink that mimics ice, a sledding area (open in half hour increments a few times a day) and fun info on polar bears and penguins. read more

Pur grand babies LOVED this place !!! Lots to do for all ages. Papa even had a great time

Kids museums are not my favorite thing to do by far! BUT!!! My kids thoroughly enjoyed this place. The ran, jumped, learned and explored. There was many many things for them to do and keep them occupied. Everything was clean and the staff was great. This is something that we would do again for sure, to us it was worth the trip. I wish there was a good one like this a bit further north! Wink wink read more

Here's the quick review of Edventure... 1. It is high-priced for the overall value. 2. Once your kids have been one time, it's the same thing. Not much new. So, experience it once but after that... Meh. 3. Go when it's not busy otherwise it's a madhouse! Kids running around like The Cat in the Hat is supervising them! 4. I understand the need for sponsors, but this is giant advertisement for corporations. 5. If you are looking to have your kids run about, park in the museum lot and walk the canal park. It is free, educational, and outdoors! 6. Eddie is, and always will be, cool. 7. Play items, like the market, are left scattered around. Side note: They do put on a good birthday package for kids. I'll give them that. That's it really. We only go when our older daughter wears us down. Which has only been three times. read more

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Nice... clean.... plenty of hands-on and pretend activities... but it's $17 an adult for two floors. it felt a bit pricey and penalizing for mom and dad to take their kid. i felt like a cheapo asking my wife to go in with our son because it was $34 to visit a small place. i've been to Seattle's science museums and DC museums that cost less, or free and 4/5 times bigger read more

I want to start by saying this place is pretty large and features lots of fun activities for kids of all ages and some good rotating exhibits, but it is definitely overpriced and a bit overrated. The condition of the facility could be much better given the steep price for entry. It is very crowded, quickly gets in disarray and there seems to be no employees to keep it from being a total disaster. Obviously these places are designed for kids to be kids, but nobody tries to crack down on dangerous behavior. Other SC kids museums are much cleaner and more affordable. There are some free/almost free days where the place becomes a total zoo. This place is in a great location and has the potential to be better. The absurd cost precludes many families from going. read more

My four year old loved this place. She was entertained for hours here. There was so much to do. We loved the maker space and the space exhibit. She was really interested in the flight dome exhibit - 3 days later and she's still talking about it. The Cockpit of the plane was really neat to sit in. It was difficult to pull her away from this area.... until she saw the grocery store and little restaurant. So much fun. The huge child in the center of the museum (Eddie) proved to be too much for my daughter who was TERRIFIED. I'm sure this isn't an issue for most children, but if you're child is sensitive like mine, you may want to be prepared for that. Due to rain we weren't able to visit the outdoor activities, but they looked nice. Some of the toys/exhibits are definitely well-loved and there are some pieces of exhibits that didn't work. That was disappointing. It was also crowded while we were there (a Tuesday afternoon) which surprised me a little. We enjoyed our time here. I'm not sure we would return again, but I'm glad we visited. read more

I enjoyed coming here as a child/kid with my family & I can't wait to take my niece (soon to be 8) & daughter (3) tomorrow for my niece 8th birthday. (Will update with more information & photos after tomorrow). read more

I have no idea how anyone is giving this place 4-5 stars. This place was SUCH a disappointment. My son watched the Blippi video of him going there for years and was so excited to visit and see Eddie. Only to be terrified by the giant mask on his face. He wouldn't go near Eddie, the main attraction because of this. Take it off! It looks ridiculous and is scaring children. That isn't even my biggest complaint. The museum was FILTHY and so many displays were in such disrepair. They need to close for a week, clean and update. They had signs up about people still wearing masks, what's the point if you aren't going to limit capacity? It was so busy. In the grocery area...the food was SO gross. It was dirty and sticky. The floors had dirt and piles of dust along the perimeter showing that the museum hasn't been properly cleaned in a long time. You know how kids get sick? By touching dirty things and then touching their face. So how about you hire a cleaning company and sanitize the place. We were there for 2 hours and had to do things multiple times to fill 2 hours of time. What an incredible disappointment. You could tell they just haven't kept up with things or replaced missing pieces or parts to displays making them pointless. Save yourself the time, money and disappointment and go to a different children's museum. read more

This place was straight MADNESS. I don't know if we came at the wrong time, or what. Most of the exhibits need to be revamped and CLEANED. Most had missing parts, pieces, buttons, etc and were stained and worn from use. They really need to place a staff member in each exhibit area to help keep the areas organized and cleaned. And to make sure certain exhibits (fire truck, tractor, etc.) aren't being monopolized by one child. Overall, the concept of this place was cool, but we will not be coming back. read more

No. Dirty. Exhibits are broken or out of order. This place has really gone down in quality over the past 2 years. Half of the displays / exhibits were closed, and several of the interactive games / toys were broken. The butterfly pavilion was sad. Dead flowers and only a few butterflies. You have to pay extra to play putt-putt. I loved this place in 2013,...it was nice and new...clean! Def NOT the case in 2016. New management? The carpet & paint is disgustingly dirty. I took pictures. I was honestly grossed out at how dirty it was. For the price, it should be maintained A LOT better. There are several other better options in the Columbia area. read more

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We have a blast every time we come! Even our 9 year olds loved everything. Great place to play and explore. We don't come often - but when we do there is always a new exhibit - this time it was for the moon.... It was really cool! read more

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Everybody's a kid at EdVenture! What else can you expect from a place featuring a 4 stories high slide shaped like a boy? My 4 years old daughter and I spent many days here since the museum opened 5 years ago. EdVenture is located beside the State Museum (another must see children friendly attraction). Admission is $8.95 for adults and $6.95 for children (2-12). Parking is FREE and very accessible. There are more than 350 interactive exhibits. Children can check out a real fire truck, buy groceries, be a farmer, doctor or an engineer for a day; play musical instruments, anchor the news on TV, climb and slide down Big Eddie, navigate the ocean, solve mysteries, study how the body works, and experience other cultures. Tips to know before you go: 1. Go early morning and if possible during the week to avoid the big crowds. The museum is open 9 AM to 5 PM (Sunday opens at noon). This month there is FREE admission on Sundays. 2. Start on the 2nd floor. Young kids will enjoy playing musical instruments and explore the seasonal exhibits. Older kids will be absorbed at the live TV and newspaper stations. There is a quiet play and reading area for babies and toddlers. 3. Get them "exhausted" climbing Big Eddie up and down. That can easily take up to 30 minutes. 4. Catch a snack break at the Clubhouse, open 11 AM to 2 PM (closed on Sunday). 5. Continue your tour on the first floor. Main attraction here is the fire truck. Young kids love to go shopping at the grocery store or play farmer. 6. Cool off at the water exhibit outside. They will get wet no matter what you do, but the fun is guaranteed. 7. If there's still time and energy left drive to the Columbia Riverfront Canal park nearby for fresh air and an amazing walk down the river. Here is a funny video from the "Exploring Human Body" and "Being a Doctor" exhibit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKYokXtHqUc Enjoy! read more

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Seriously fun place! Best children's museum in SC! 2nd time there and we spent just as long or longer and still have not explored every section. Many exhibits that teach children about the human body, recycling, water ways, dinosaurs, fossils, pet care, butterflies, fire safety, car care, grocery store, farm and more. Participates in Bank of America's 1st Saturday free admission for cardholders and sometimes offers Groupons. read more

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